The removal of soils from both hard surfaces (e.g., industrial maintenance, post-construction cement and brick, household flooring, kitchen and bathroom surfaces) and fabrics is an age-old problem which has been addressed in a variety of ways. Typically, different types of compositions are used for hard surface cleaning and fabric cleaning and the approaches used frequently fall into one of two types.
The first type of composition includes surfactants with relatively heavy ion loadings, such as trisodium phosphate and, more recently, tetrapotassium pyrophosphate and/or the metasilicate salts of sodium or potassium. These compositions are frequently sold as powders for water dilution or as pre-solvated solutions. They have relatively high pH (typically around 10 or even greater) and, as such, are caustic with related physiological risks. Further, the phosphate and silicate present in the compositions potentially pose a significant environmental risk.
The second general category of cleaners utilizes mixtures of solvents, detergent emulsifiers and pH shifting compounds such that the compositions either have a relatively low pH (2 or less, incorporating, for example, organic and inorganic acids) or a relatively high pH (9 or more, incorporating various amines, hydroxide salts and/or ammonia). These pH adjustments are utilized because it is difficult to solvate greasy and oily soils using typical pH neutral compositions and, accordingly, cleaning efficiency is typically enhanced at the higher or lower pHs. Such acid or alkaline compositions can also present problems in terms of color change, bleaching and/or leaching of the surfaces cleaned, potential damage to rubber or plastic substrates contacted, damage to fabrics cleaned, and potential damage to users, pets or children from contact with the eyes, skin or possible ingestion. These compositions also tend to leave deposits of acidic or alkaline salts on surfaces when dried. These residues can reactivate with moisture to produce caustic and degrading secondary surface conditions. Finally, the solvents utilized in these compositions can pose both safety and environmental issues.
It, therefore, would be highly desirable to be able to formulate a cleaning composition which removes a wide variety of soils, including heavy greasy and oily soils, from both hard surfaces and fabrics with great efficiency, and which can be formulated at neutral pH and without the use of high levels of solvents. The present invention addresses this need through the use of combinations of specifically-defined nonionic alcohol ethoxylate surfactants and fluorophosphate surfactants.
Nonionic alcohol ethoxylate surfactants and fluorosurfactants have been disclosed for use in cleaning compositions of various types. However, the specific surfactants defined herein have not heretofore been used together in a hard surface or fabric cleaning composition.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,475, Corey, et al., issued Aug. 16, 1994, discloses an aqueous carpet cleaning composition comprising fluorophosphates, one or more surfactants selected from nonionic, anionic and amphoteric surfactants, and hydrogen peroxide in an aqueous solution having a pH between 4.0 and 6.4.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,861,365, Colurciello, et al., issued Jan. 19, 1999, discloses an aqueous cleaning and surface treatment composition which is said to be particularly suitable for cleaning and treating carpets and carpet fibers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,712,240, Tyerech, et al., issued Jan. 27, 1998, describes an aqueous carpet cleaning composition which is said to impart water and oil repellency characteristics to carpet surfaces and to carpet fibers treated with the composition. Both Colurciello and Tyerech disclose the use of fluorophosphates as optional surfactants which may be added to the disclosed cleaning compositions. These patents also disclose the use of alcohol ethoxylates as optional nonionic surfactants which may also be added to the cleaning compositions. Neither of these patents describes or suggests the use of fluorophosphates together with alcohol ethoxylates.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,811, Wile, et al., issued May 16, 1995, discloses an aqueous cleaning composition which is said to be useful for cleaning hard surfaces, such as glass. The composition comprises an aqueous mixture of an alcohol, a glycol ether and a fluorosurfactant. The fluorosurfactant disclosed specifically is a potassium fluoroalkylcarboxylate. The preferred glycol ether disclosed is ethylene glycol monobutyl ether.